In this poem, as the title suggests, Poe addresses Helen – by whom he means
Helen of Troy
, reputed to be the most beautiful woman in the classical world. She was the ‘face that launched a thousand ships', in Christopher Marlowe's famous line about her from his play Doctor Faustus.
What is the meaning of to Helen by Edgar Allan Poe?
Poe also refers to Helen as Psyche, a beautiful princess who became the lover of Cupid. Psyche represented the soul to ancient Greeks, and Poe is comparing Helen
to the very soul of “regions which are Holy Land”
meaning the soul of Greece from which so much of our ideals of beauty, democracy and learning sprang forth.
Who did Poe write to Helen about?
Edgar Allan Poe wrote “To Helen” in
honor of a woman named Jane Stanard
, who died many years before he published this poem in The Raven, and Other Poems (1845). The speaker of “To Helen” doesn't just see his beloved as beautiful.
What inspired Poe to write to Helen?
In Greek mythology, Helen of Troy is the most beautiful woman that ever lived and is the reason for the ten year long Trojan War. Poe compares Helen's appearance to the ships,
the “Nicéan barks of yore
,” that brought the victorious soldiers home to Greece and Rome. … Stanard served as an inspiration for Poe's writing.
When did Edgar Allan Poe write to Helen?
Edgar Allan Poe's best-known works include the poems “To Helen” (
1831
), “The Raven” (1845), and “Annabel Lee” (1849); the short stories of wickedness and crime “The Tell-Tale Heart” (1843) and “The Cask of Amontillado” (1846); and the supernatural horror story “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839).
Why does Poe describe face of Helen as classic?
Her ‘classic face'
reinforces the sense of her classical beauty
. … The fact that Helen's beauty has ‘brought [Poe] home' to Greece and Rome suggests not only that he has been reminded of the magic and beauty of classical civilisation but that he recognises it as the cradle of all Western civilisation.
What is the tone of the poem Helen?
‘Helen' by H.D. tells of
the complete and total hatred
that the Greek people feel for Helen of Troy after she causes the Trojan war. The poem begins with the speaker stating that hate is the overwhelming feeling that the Greeks feel for this one woman.
What is the summary of Annabel Lee?
It is
the story of a husband and wife who are torn asunder when evil angels plot against them
. Annabel Lee is based on the original poem by Edgar Allan Poe which was written near the time of his death. It is the story of a husband and wife who are torn apart when angels plot against them.
Why does the speaker use allusions to mythology in to Helen?
Helen of Troy is now one of the most legendary figures in Greek mythology which suggests that the speaker's Helen and by extension Poe's Jane will play a meaningful, lasting role in his life. The allusion to the Naiads suggests
that Helen's role in the speaker's life extends beyond that of a lover.
What is Helen of Troy the goddess of?
Helen was worshipped and had a festival at Therapnae in Laconia; she also had a temple at Rhodes, where she was worshipped as Dendritis (the tree goddess). Like her brothers, the Dioscuri, she was a
patron deity of sailors
. Her name is pre-Hellenic and in cult may go back to the pre-Greek periods.
What does the beautiful face of Helen remind the poet?
The poem opens with the speaker comparing Helen's beauty to some ships that transported a lonely wanderer back home. In the second stanza, the speaker again compares himself to a lonely man for whom Helen's beauty has functioned like a saving grace (this time, her hair and face remind him of
ancient Greece and Rome
).
What is the genre of to Helen?
He is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the modern detective story and an innovator in the
science fiction genre
, but he made his living as America's first great literary critic and theoretician. Poe's reputation today rests primarily on his tales of terror as well as on his haunting lyric poetry.
What were Edgar Allan Poe's most famous works?
- “The Cask of Amontillado”
- “The Fall of the House of Usher” …
- “The Black Cat” …
- “The Masque of the Red Death” …
- “The Tell-Tale Heart” …
- “The Pit and the Pendulum” …
What meaning of glory does the speaker associate with Greece?
To the glory that was Greece, And the grandeur that was Rome. The speaker now addresses Helen (Jane Stanard) again. … Helen's beauty reminds the speaker of the glory of ancient Greece (
the place and time where Helen supposedly lived
). She also reminds him of the “grandeur” (the greatness) of ancient Rome.
What does How statue like I see the stand mean?
The speaker is floored by Helen's beauty as he sees her standing in the “window niche” (like a nook). Saying “Lo” is like saying OMG when you all of a sudden see something astonishing. Helen is standing “statue-like,” which means
both that she resembles a work of art and that she is not moving at all
.
What word does the speaker use to describe Helen's hair?
In Poe's short story “Ligeia,” the narrator describes the character Ligeia's hair as “raven-black” and
“hyacinthine
,” so the use of “hyacinth” in “To Helen” may suggest that Helen has black hair. It may also suggest that Helen's hair is curly like a cluster of hyacinth flowers.
